The UK Green Building Council is launching a new task group to examine ways to reduce the current interest rate for the domestic Green Deal.

The current interest rate being offered by the Green Deal Finance Company is 6.96%, with the APR for Green Deal plans ranging from 7.9% to 10.3%. According to the UK-GBC, reducing the interest rate could allow more measures to meet the scheme's Golden Rule principle and potentially reduce the need for customers to make any upfront payments.

The task group will also investigate the way Green Deal finance is communicated to the public.

Christoph Harwood, partner at Marksman Consulting and chair of the task group, said: "We aim to take a practical view on Green Deal interest rates and help policy makers understand their options. We are unlikely to come out with a silver-bullet solution but what I hope we can do is inform the debate."

Richard Twinn, policy and public affairs officer at UK-GBC, added: "It is no secret that the Green Deal has got off to a slow start, with the cost of finance repeatedly blamed. It is essential that we now shift the debate onto finding solutions so that we can make the Green Deal a success."

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